Del Norters are 37 percent more likely to die than Californians as a whole, yet the number of physicians available to treat them has declined dramatically since 2004

As debates over the future of Sutter Coast Hospital continue to divide the local medical community, new statistics paint a sickly portrait of health in Del Norte County, where there are half as many doctors today as there were a decade ago.

Having enough providers plays an important role in whether people can access health care, according to the California Department of Public Health, data from which showed local residents are 37 percent more likely to die each year than Californians as a whole. Cancer kills at a 30 percent higher rate in Del Norte than the state average, while heart disease outpaces the norm by 13 percent.

School district may make changes to staffing levels

Early enrollment projections for the Del Norte Unified School District’s 2015–2016 year were presented this week, and if Del Norte High School’s numbers don’t go up in future reports, then secondary school staffing levels are due to go down.

Across the district, next year’s projected enrollment numbers remain fairly consistent with this year’s actual figures except for at the high school, where a downward enrollment trend continues, according to discussion at Thursday’s school board meeting. And Del Norte Assistant Superintendent of Business Jeff Napier said that if there is no change to the preliminary estimate of enrollment at the high school next year, then up to seven full-time teaching positions on the campus would need to be reconsidered.

A man connected with last year’s burglary of Redwood School pleaded guilty on Friday to a felony receiving stolen property charge and now faces a maximum of three years in state prison.

Daniel Nuttall, who received an electric guitar and at least two iPad Minis stolen from the school in December and traded some of the haul for marijuana and cash, according to a District Attorney’s Office news release, decided to accept a DA plea agreement and avoid a potentially harsher punishment.

Matthew Honeycutt is set for a March 9 jury trial for the alleged December 2013 stabbing of 25-year-old Aaron Herring outside of Shooter’s Bar.

On Friday, Robert Forkner, Honeycutt’s attorney, said he was prepared for the trial, which is expected to last five to seven days, according to attorneys. The readiness to move forward is a change from the uncertainty that Wednesday’s readiness conference brought, when Forkner said he still needed to confirm that an important expert witness with a busy schedule can be there.

The Triplicate was briefly allowed inside the mind of a burl thief this week when convicted redwood burl hacker Danny Garcia opened up to reporter Aaron West in a phone interview on Monday.

Garcia, who was arrested last May and charged with felony vandalism for what he and fellow Orick-resident Larry Morrow did to an old growth redwood tree with a chainsaw, explained to the Triplicate his motivation, his process, and his guilt. Part of what he said ran in Monday’s “Bill takes swing at poachers” story, but some of the rest can be found here.

Repair work on Washington Boulevard is seen through the new culvert waiting to be installed.

A sinkhole 5 feet deep caused by a dilapidated culvert had crews working quickly Tuesday and Wednesday. The Del Norte County Roads Division closed the west end of Washington Boulevard for two days to dig out the old culvert and install the new, deftly avoiding a phone line and two water mains — one of which turned out to be abandoned. A few hours ahead of schedule, the freshly paved section of road was open to traffic Wednesday afternoon.

“We want to inconvenience the public as little as possible,” said Roads Superintendent Jeff Daniels. Happy to report the job was done, he said the division was keeping an eye out for the next culprit culvert threatening collapse.

As storms brewed throughout Northern California Feb. 7, the community of Hiouchi went dark. Whole trees and large branches were thrown by the wind into power lines and transformers, and more than 5,600 people in Del Norte lost power.

A California Senate bill has been introduced that would see millions in state-owed money given back to California counties, marking the first time such a payment has been made in over a decade if the legislation goes through.